Boy faces death with a smile in company of Tim Tebow, Dwight Howard

Is he too young to understand the urgency etched in the lyrics of Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" ballad?

Does he go to sleep with the tick-tick clock of time beating down on him?

Blake Appleton would probably roll his eyes if you asked him any of those questions. What's the fuss, silly?

Let's go out and play!

Life isn't about the end. It's about the boundless opportunities of today and tomorrow.

See Blake smiling face to face with Dwight Howard as he hands him his size 18 sneakers at Amway Center.

See Blake sharing a private moment with Tim Tebow in Denver.

See Blake rumbling down the snow, tubing in Vail.

Blake Appleton is teaching us so many lessons about living as he dies.

Blake has fought the good fight. He's gone through 55 cycles of chemo, 30 radiation treatments, and 20 surgeries (four of which were brain surgeries).

Finally, in November, he turned to his mother, Miranda, and said 'enough mommy.'

It wasn't the cry of a child whining about going to the doctor again. It was the call of a young boy wise enough to know that the consequences of stopping treatments mean a death sentence.

He is OK with that, mostly troubled by the understanding that his mom and 10-year-old sister Morgan will live to mourn his death.

A web site called dailyridge.com first told the story. That mushroomed into a kind-hearted media crush of TV stations picking up the story, including Fox News 35 in Orlando. That mushroomed into an outpouring of love, support and donations.

Carrie Hoeppner of the Florida Department of Children & Families got involved. She contacted Lucas Boyce of the Orlando Magic, who got the family courtside seats against the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 29. The highlight was an after-game meeting with Dwight outside the locker room, with the big man coming out to meet him shirtless with a towel draped around his neck.

The next morning, they were off to Denver for an all-expenses paid trip that included tickets to the final regular-season home game for the Denver Broncos, against the Kansas City Chiefs.

After Denver Police officers volunteered to escort Blake to Mile High Stadium, the family stepped onto the field during pre-game activities when Tebow dropped by. Tebow had called Blake in early December, but nothing compared to this. Blake had always idolized Tebow because his parents were Florida Gators fans from Lake Wales.

During one of the round of chemo treatments, when he went to Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville, Blake actually beamed "I am going to Tebow country!"

Now he had him all to himself. "Blake, nice to see you buddy," Tebow said. They stepped away from a private moment and conversation. Blake has yet to share with his mom what was said, and she is fine with that.

That moment, like so many others in recent weeks, is a snapshot that will never fade.

"I've never seen Blake so happy, getting to see him do all this stuff and getting to live his dream," Miranda said. "It's been great, we've had a lot of priceless memories."

They returned to Lake Wales after landing in Orlando late Wednesday afternoon, facing the uncertainty and the inevitability of the months ahead. The cancer has now spread to his spine. Doctors said "six months" in November.

But there's still a birthday to celebrate on Feb. 9th, and the kid still has some stuff he wants to do.

"I kinda asked him and he's told me some things and places he wants to go," Miranda said. "I don't know if I will be able to take him there but he would he love to see Hawaii and Australia, and he told me for some reason he wants to see the Eiffel Tower."

Life is all about the journey. It is understandable to mourn a life that will be taken so young. But it's also cool to celebrate the life of a kid who refuses to miss a step along the way.